Apple uses OpenStreetMap data without attribution

US: Recently, Apple unveiled its new iPad with lots of new features. One of the key features is the photo editing application, iPhoto. It can be used to geo-tag photos and placing them on a digital map. But, the map reportedly included in the app bore an uncanny resemblance to the OpenStreetMap, a crowd-sourced mapping project that relies on location data provided by upwards of 400,000 volunteer contributors around the world.

The resemblance came down to individual parking lots and footpaths shown-off in Apple’s iPhoto map for areas outside the U.S., but which do not appear in Google Maps or other mapping software, outside of the OpenStreetMap.

While the OpenStreetMap project allows anyone to make free use of its data, its usage policy does require that they provide attribution back to OpenStreetMap under a Creative Commons “Share Alike” license. Apple does not appear to have credited OpenStreetMap for its usage of the data, according to the bloggers and members of the project itself.